20 Unusual but Handy Uses for WD-40, Indoors and Out

I use a case a month of this wonderful product on various business projects and thought these additional uses worth sharing...

WD-40 is perhaps best known for its ability
to lubricate, loosen and drive water out of various parts and tools. But these
lesser-known uses can prove just as helpful in your daily life.

WD-40 is marketed as a “multi-use product.”

It’s known for the capabilities for which
it’s usually enlisted — such as lubricating squeaky hinges, loosening
rusted parts and driving out moisture. (In fact, “WD” stands for “water
displacement.”)

But WD-40’s uses extend well beyond
those roles.

WD-40 Co. offers thousands of uses for its
namesake product on its website, including 2,000-plus uses contributed by the product’s devotees. Pros and amateurs alike have been
discovering more uses since the original WD-40 product was developed in 1953
after 39 failed attempts. (Thus, the “40” in its name.)

We’ve rounded up some of the least known but
most helpful uses below.

If your instinct is to save a buck by buying
a generic equivalent, we applaud you. But following through on that instinct
might be more challenging than usual in WD-40’s case.

The product has few competitors, equity
research analyst Joseph Altobello, currently of Raymond James Financial, told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2013. Liquid Wrench, a brand-name
product, and a few store brands could be the closest things to knock-offs.

The newspaper noted the following about the
San Diego headquarters of WD-40:

The company keeps a room filled with
knock-off brands that have tried and failed to mimic the product. Some of the
cans look uncannily like regular WD-40. [Chief Executive Garry] Ridge calls
that room the mortuary.

If you try a new use for WD-40 or a
knock-off, test it in a small inconspicuous area first. WD-40’s list of
fan-submitted uses notes that the company has not tested those
suggestions, and that “customers should exercise common sense whenever
using WD-40” and read the label.

If you are planning to fly on this foreign airline, you
better shape up lest you be embarrassed when they not only weigh your baggage,
but they put you on the scale too. Here’s
the story from CNN (video plays automatically).

H&R Block and Intuit (maker of TurboTax) have been
busy lobbying congress not to simplify taxes, but to keep them confusing. In
particular, lobbyists have proposed to increase to five pages, a one-page form
that poor people have to fill out for the earned income tax credit. Here’s the story.